Solectron Corporation

Solectron's 2007 sale to Flextronics for $3.6 billion marked the end of the world's largest electronics manufacturing services company. Solectron had grown to $18.7 billion in revenue through acquisitions during the tech boom. When the bubble burst, capacity exceeded demand, and Asian competitors offered lower costs. Years of losses led to the distressed sale. Solectron demonstrated that contract manufacturing scale doesn't create defensible advantage against lower-cost competitors.